


Taking the Initiative

by heathtrash



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 08:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20757479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heathtrash/pseuds/heathtrash
Summary: In the flickering light of the triple-wicked candle, Hecate steepled her fingers together next to her mouth, and gave a savage smirk.“Roll initiative.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pippa Pentangle is here to ruffle feathers at Cackle's Academy once again, with her workshop on Bringing Witching Academies into the Modern Era. However, she doesn't realise that her suggestion that Cackle's start lunchtime clubs would snowball into quite the elaborate affair that it turns out to be.

“Hecate, wouldn’t it be a _brilliant_ idea to run a lunchtime club?” said Ada, setting her hand down on the table near Hecate’s. 

Hecate let a breath out through her long nose. This _Bringing Witching Academies into the Modern Era_ staff workshop had been an utter humiliation thus far. It was almost as much torture as spending the entire day in the presence of Miss Pentangle, who now was smiling brightly at Ada’s initiative in Hecate’s eyeline. Something about the way Pippa Pentangle—upon whom Hecate had held a ridiculous, inexplicable crush for the best part of three decades—was so trendy, so _pink_, had the capacity to both infuriate and allure her in the most excruciating manner.

“A potions club?” Hecate suggested. She saw very little point in all of this. Why she would give up the little time she had for marking in her free lunch hours to _entertain_ her students was beyond her ken.

“Think _more fun_, Miss Hardbroom,” chimed Miss Pentangle.

Hecate raised her eyebrows. “Fun? That is not _quite_ my area of expertise.”

“What _does_ capture the imagination of children these days, anyway?” Ada said hastily, just as Dimity looked as though she were about to throw some witticism or another about Hecate’s ‘area of expertise’ and Miss Pentangle opened her mouth to counter Hecate’s remark.

“Well, I’ve been doing some research,” Miss Pentangle replied, and slipped a hand into her floral pink handbag to withdraw a mobile telephone. Hecate visibly recoiled as Miss Pentangle became absorbed in thumbing the screen to find what she had been looking for. However disinclined Hecate was towards the adoption of modern magic techniques, the concept of witches using Ordinary technology was far worse. When Pippa alighted on whatever it was she had researched, something like fire flashed brightly in the reflection of her reading glasses.

Lowering the phone, Miss Pentangle gave a gesture, and the screen magically projected onto the blank page of her flip-chart. A video began playing. Hecate squinted her eyes to make out what was going on.

“It looks like some kind of battle sequence,” Hecate said. “Are you saying we should teach our girls historical battle reenactment?”

“Much as I think that’s a charming idea that I _definitely_ want to include in our extra-curricular activity programme at Pentangle’s, keep watching.”

The video changed perspective. In contrast to the battle scene of before, the view switched to what appeared to be several people sitting in a room around a table. One of them started to narrate, “Our adventure begins as the sun crests over the horizon, in the land of Exandria—”

“This is D&D!” Dimity said, thumping her fist on the table. Hecate looked up, unamused, as the tea in her teacup splashed over the edge of the rim and into her saucer, where it began soaking into her stem ginger biscuit.

“And what, _pray tell_, is _dee and dee_?” Hecate said stiffly, straightening her posture frostily.

“Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a fantasy game you play with your friends. But it all takes place in an imaginary world that you invent in your head. One person is the dungeon master, and they play the role of a story teller. The rest of the group are players, who interact in the world that the dungeon master creates. You have numbers on paper that pertain to your character and what they can do. You can cast spells, fight with weapons, or solve problems by talking—it really encourages creativity, problem-solving, and social skills,” Miss Pentangle explained as the group. “And you can do silly voices, too.”

Dimity nodded enthusiastically. “My niece plays it. She’s absolutely nuts about it. I’d love to play!”

Gwen and Hecate exchanged baffled looks, but Ada’s face was lit up by a sense of childlike glee. “That sounds absolutely _marvellous_! I’m sure our girls would really benefit from playing a game like this.”

Miss Pentangle started explaining the finer details of the game, and how a session might work, while Ada nodded along delighted, and Hecate, highly sceptical about the entire affair, took notes begrudgingly, primarily out of duty to Ada’s clear intrigue in the subject. 

Hecate’s face was pinched in thought as Miss Pentangle paused in her explanation. “So you can just _do as you please_ in this made-up world? You could just say, for example ‘I kill the goblin’, and it happens?”

“No, of course not. Although I’ve read that some people prefer to run the game that way. There are _many_ rule books, which go into almost excessive amounts of detail about all sorts of minutiae.”

At this, Miss Pentangle crouched behind the table, and emerging, dropped eight or nine thick hardback books before them with a _thud_. Hecate’s eyes widened in pure ecstacy. 

“And you don’t have to put on any silly outfits or pretend to hit each other with wooden swords?” Hecate said, doing her best to return to the cynical tone she had held before, rather than being swept away by the pitter-patter in her chest that her heart was performing over the number of densely packed volumes solely dedicated to _rules_.

“Not unless you want to,” Miss Pentangle said, winking at Hecate. Hecate went as pink as Miss Pentangle’s hat.

* * *

In the half-light of late afternoon in her office the following evening, Hecate peered over the attractively-coloured pages of the new-smelling large tome as it hovered at a comfortable distance from her eyes with the candlelight slanting just at the right angle over the text. She had been closely studying this _Dungeon Master’s Guide_ to get an overview of how she was going to go about creating a world for her new D&D club, which to her own surprise, she had agreed to run on a Friday lunchtime as a trial to gauge interest.

While Dimity had seemed like the more obvious candidate to start D&D club, having the most knowledge of the game, Ada had suggested they each run a range of different extra-curricular activities so as to appeal to a variety of interests. Algernon had practically hopped onto the table over his own idea of a jazzercise class—whatever that was—and Gwen had volunteered for musical theatre. Dimity was keen on self-defence, inspired by Hecate’s comment about the video before they had found out what it really was. Hecate thought that Ada would want to take on the challenge of Dungeons and Dragons, but she had seemed a little put off at the thought of memorising all the game mechanics, and had opted for the safer idea of a book club—which left Hecate with the mountain of rulebooks. 

Miss Pentangle had loaned them to her on the proviso that she would have the opportunity to participate in the first session. It was a reasonable enough exchange, and Miss Pentangle had also offered to bring her portable computing device around later that very evening so that they could review the way the game worked together by watching another of the videos of the game being played, as well as some general advice from “professional” dungeon masters. Hecate was honestly rather surprised that such a profession could exist, but apparently it was so.

As Hecate learnt more about the game, there were certainly some aspects of it that were more far-fetched, in particular as far as the mechanics of spellcasting went. Of course, it was based on Ordinary people’s interpretations of what magic would be like if it were real—which it was, but Ordinaries obviously weren’t to know that. She had to grant that the game’s creators had rather a difficult challenge of condensing complicated concepts into measurable mechanics, which were balanced for fairness of play, and could be easily understood by anyone who should like to take part. She arrived at the section on magical items—illustrated expertly, she had to admit—and while a few were completely ludicrous, some made her pause and marvel at the real-life applications of putting enchantments onto items. Enchanted objects were common, to be sure, but It was hard to believe that something written about magic by Ordinary folk could give her such wonderment about magic, but it truly had.

* * *

Evening fell, and with it brought Miss Pentangle’s gentle knock at her chamber door. Suddenly self-conscious about the dullness of her living room, Hecate waved a hand, and a few more lit candles appeared. Marginally more inviting—and with a flick of her fingers at the fireplace, the cold void filled with tongues of dancing flames. Hecate crossed to the door, and took a deep breath before opening it.

“Miss Pentangle—thank you for coming,” Hecate said, as Miss Pentangle swept in her chambers all nonchalant, carrying a large bag and her cloak over one arm.

“Oh Hecate, please just call me Pippa,” she said, handing Hecate the silky pink cloak. “You really don’t have to ‘Miss Pentangle’ me.”

Hecate stood dumb-struck for a moment, clutching the cloak that was still warm from Miss Pentangle’s skin, before coming to her senses and hanging it up on her cloak stand. “But you’re a _headmistress_—my professional superior. It would be impolite—”

“I’ll tell you what’s impolite, Hecate,” Miss Pentangle said in mock irritation, “Continuing to call me _Miss Pentangle_ when I’ve asked you so many times to call me Pippa.”

“If you insist… Pippa.” Hecate pursed her lips. Pippa bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at the expression on Hecate’s face.

“Shall we get started, then? I don’t want to monopolise too much of your evening,” Pippa said, and drew out of the bag the portable computing device. She looked around the room, which was sparse in its furniture. There was only one armchair by the fire, and one wooden chair at the bureau. Hecate wondered whether she should tell Miss Pentangle— _Pippa_ that there wasn’t the remotest chance that she could have had anything else planned for this evening, but kept silent. She doubted someone as glamorous and outgoing as Pippa Pentangle would understand the concept of not having anything to do on a Sunday night.

“Goodness, Hecate, don’t you own a _sofa_?” Pippa said incredulously. She raised her hands and conjured up a plush pink chesterfield right in the middle of Hecate’s living room.

“Does it really need to be pink?” Hecate asked, her eyebrows slanted in despair.

Pippa rolled her eyes at Hecate and jabbed a finger towards the chesterfield. It darkened into a rich burgundy that better complimented the rest of Hecate’s decor. Then she slipped out of her heels while approaching the new piece of furniture, parked herself neatly on it. She drew her legs up under her, and patted the spot beside her. Hecate reluctantly sat down, feeling exceedingly awkward.

“You’ll need to sit a little closer to me than that, Hecate,” Pippa said, and Hecate felt herself go rigid and shuffled all of an inch closer to her. Pippa sighed and moved herself over instead, so that their thighs were touching. “I won’t be able to see from all the way over there.”

Pippa handed her the portable computing device while Hecate was still processing the new experience of Pippa Pentangle’s thigh being pressed against her own, feeling her own burning in response. Hecate turned it over in her hands; to her it was merely a perplexing silver rectangle.

“It’s called a laptop, and it goes on your lap,” Pippa said, and turned it the right way up, put it on Hecate’s lap, and opened it at the hinge. Hecate was startled as the screen lit up and words appeared. Then a large picture splashed across the whole screen—it was Pippa lying on her front with her owl Mr Perky Pentangle perched quirkily on her head and her cat familiar licking her paw while quite at home on Pippa’s derriere. Hecate felt her breath catch in her throat while she tried not to betray any emotions over this new insight into Pippa’s personal life.

Mercifully, Pippa made the screen change to something else. “This website is where we can search for videos. Try typing in ‘dungeons and dragons’ into the search bar.” 

Hecate looked blankly at Pippa at these foreign words.

Pippa gestured to the plastic squares on the base of the laptop. “See, it has keys like a typewriter.”

“That makes hardly more sense to me than what you said before,” Hecate said, bewildered.

“Gosh, Hecate, you really do live in the dark ages, don’t you?” Pippa said, trying not to laugh. “Let me.”

Before Hecate could react, Pippa leaned over her just a little, angled the laptop towards her—with a _definitely_ accidental stroke of the edge of her finger against Hecate’s leg—and tapped the keys. Hecate felt each tap through the bottom of the laptop against her lap and tried hard to keep her head in a fervently platonic place, for professionalism’s sake. 

Once Hecate worked out how the website was displaying its information, she could identify that the images were previews of the videos available for watching. Several of the titles caught her eye. Pippa suggested that they watch a little more of the example game she had shown them the other day.

The game as played by this group of people seemed of very high production value. The acting was really quite compelling, and Hecate marvelled at the way the dungeon master described scenes so vividly, apparently on the spot. She couldn’t imagine she would be able to manage _this_ level of excellence. Pippa gave her own commentary while the video continued. “It won’t be like this, I imagine. These are adults who have been for years together. See how many views they have? They’re a very popular group, and for good reason. I’m sure the girls will bring something really inventive to the table but it might be a bit sillier than this. And all of this description is really stuff you can prepare beforehand, if you have an idea of where the group will be going that session.”

Hecate’s eyes almost bugged out of her skull as she realised that 5.7 _million_ people had watched this single video. No wonder Pippa had suggested Dungeons and Dragons as something popular with young people currently. Hecate was totally absorbed in the video and wanted to watch to the end, but as Pippa pointed out— “It’s four _hours_ long, Hecate!”

Pippa paused the video at a good stopping place and went back to the search page for some general advice videos, asking Hecate if she was after anything in particular. Hecate chose a few and Pippa queued them up, side-eyeing Hecate and elbowing her playfully, asking probing questions about the contents of the campaign. Hecate watched, enraptured, wishing she had her notebook to write down the invaluable pointers. When they had finished those, they looked for more. Hecate was eager to fill the gaps in her dungeon master knowledge and wanted to take advantage of the presence of the laptop, as there was something much more immediate about the medium of video than the rulebooks. While the books were obviously the superior format from which to learn, she had very little spare time around her teaching, marking, and deputy headmistress responsibilities to become a competent dungeon master in less than a week’s time.

“How about that one? A quickstart guide to combat,” Hecate said, pointing to the screen.

“Oh, are you interested in combat?” Pippa’s eyes lit up in delight. “Do you think we’ll get to fight something?”

Hecate dodged Pippa’s finger, which was aiming for her cheek. “I want to be able to be prepared in case the girls suddenly decide to attack one of my hapless villagers, and _stop_ trying to work out what it is that I’m going to do in my campaign. It’s meant to be a surprise.”

“Oh, please, just a hint? I promise I’ll act shocked just for the girls,” Pippa said, looking over her reading glasses coyly at Hecate.

“Goodness me, Pippa. I should make you play the role of the beguiling, villainous enchantress who tries to tempt information out of the party,” Hecate shot back at her, eyes full of playful threat.

“Do you see me as the villain in this, then?” Pippa murmured, suddenly seeming very close.

“N-not exactly,” Hecate said, swallowing carefully, quickly realising the tone of the conversation had shifted into an area in which she was woefully underpracticed. “I think— I think perhaps I will read up on the rest in the books. It is getting rather late, and I am sure you will be wanting to return to Pentangle’s,” Hecate finished rather half-heartedly.

Pippa agreed, perhaps sensing Hecate’s discomfort, and packed away the laptop and gathered herself together, bending to pick up the discarded high heels from where they were lying provocatively on Hecate’s living room floor. Hecate fetched her cloak from the stand and helped Pippa into it, fingers trembling slightly as she placed it around her elegantly sloping shoulders. She dared not touch the ponytail that had been trapped behind it, which she left Pippa to free for herself.

Pippa turned as she stood in the doorway to leave. “But am I welcome back to beguile you once again, O dungeon master?”

Hecate turned pink. Willing her voice to do anything, she cleared her throat, and managed to squeak out a feeble, “Yes, if you would like.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just a very silly idea that popped into my head fully-formed yesterday while doing a planning session for my slowburn. I ended up writing chapters one and two straight off basically without stopping to breathe. I thought it would be just a drabble, maybe a ficlet, but it became too long to be considered either as the words just emptied out of me onto my document.
> 
> YES, I'm a D&D/Critical Role fan and yes, use of Matt's word "cresting" was fully intended as an allusion. As was Exandria, obviously.
> 
> Hecate Hardbroom is noT a fan of dunking biscuits so the fact that her stem ginger biscuit got DAMPENED by her tea is an affront to her entire personality.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this gentle foray into fluffy fun as a break from my Dramatic Slowburn.
> 
> Heathcliff  
@heathtrash on tumblr


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hecate makes extensive preparations for her first session of D&D club, but will it all be worth the effort?

Over the next week, the sign-up sheet accompanying the poster that Hecate had pinned up on the notice board filled up quickly. Hecate was certain that it was due to the fact that the poster specified that Pippa Pentangle would be a guest star, and not due to her rather staid-looking attempt at a poster. She and Miss Pentangle had agreed on a limited number of slots, according to the advice of the videos they had watched, and Hecate resolved to start some kind of system whereby new potential players could drop in, as young students could be relied upon for their fickleness as interests waxed and waned. She hoped, rather than trusted, that there would be at least some regulars who would be keen to keep up with her plot, which she had spent more time than she would care to admit perfecting.

The day had finally arrived when Hecate’s Dungeons and Dragons club was to commence. For the entire week, the school had been abuzz with the new lunchtime clubs. Hecate, in her anxious reviewing of the notice board, had noted that Ethel Hallow had signed up to every single one of the clubs and tried not to express her exasperation in any visible or audible way. Ethel Hallow was exactly the kind of person she imagined would offset the group dynamic, particularly since the other members of the group were students Ethel was not known for her pleasantness towards. But perhaps with _two_ members of staff present, counting Miss Pentangle, she might be tolerable. And goodness knows, maybe Ethel would not enjoy herself and not come back.

Hecate had spent all morning before breakfast setting up one of the spare classrooms to be as atmospheric as possible. She had found some fantasy-themed props and decorations—one of her ornate letter openers that could pass for a dagger, a real knight’s helmet she had borrowed from one of the suits of armour in the entrance corridor, and necklaces and rings from her own late grandmother’s jewellery box that were in truth little more than costume pieces, but she cast some glowing charms on them to make them seem ‘magical’ in the context of the game. She had also made some ‘spell scrolls’ on paper she had weathered with tea and burned the edges with magic of her own, before inscribing with runes and latinate magic words in perfect calligraphy in various colours of ink. There were real quaffable ‘potions’ too, which were filled with simple herbal infusions with food colouring added for effect.

The all-important polyhedral dice sets had been procured, too, in various glittering, translucent, pearlescent colours. She placed those in a bowl in the centre of the table where they waited in the low candlelight, glittering like sweets.

Hecate had several hand-drawn battle maps waiting to be summoned at dramatic moments from her office. She felt that sprucing up the game with a little _real_ magic would definitely make it that much more interesting for the girls.

Hecate, during all her morning lessons, willed the time to go faster and slower at the same time. She kept checking her pocket watch, panicking as the hour grew nearer when she was to introduce the girls to the game with which she had so rapidly and whole-heartedly fallen in love. Pippa was due to arrive at exactly 11:40 when lessons finished for the morning and lunch with her, during which time she would brief Pippa on the general role that her character would have. Hecate was extremely grateful that Pippa was to be present and act as a kind of buffer between her and the girls, even if it was just for one session.

* * *

Pippa just had to make a show of her arrival—of course, Hecate groaned to herself, of _course_ she would take the opportunity to swan into the courtyard on a sunbeam shooting out from her broomstick, to the awe of the girls who had gathered to greet her, all clapping and cheering. 

“Come on inside, then,” Hecate said stiffly when Pippa had made her way through the gaggle of gossiping girls. The sight of their severe potions mistress and the glamorous Pippa Pentangle together seemed to be one of particular intrigue. Hecate led them to her office, where she had had a plate of sandwiches and some tea sent up from the kitchens for their private discussion.

After they had lunched—or rather, after Pippa had eaten and Hecate had resigned herself to go lunchless in her apprehension and briefed Pippa on her character’s background instead—Hecate led Pippa to the door of the classroom where D&D club was to be held. The window in the door had been covered with a blackout screen so the inside could not be seen.

“My, my, Hecate, this is very mysterious!” Pippa exclaimed.

“Close your eyes,” Hecate said, nervous but excited, and in an adrenaline-induced haze, feeling bolder than she was. “And don’t open them until I say to.”

Pippa did so, grinning ear to ear. Once Hecate was sure Pippa was not peeking, she unlocked the door with a gesture, and, shaking slightly, took both of Pippa’s hands in hers and led her in.

“Keep them closed,” Hecate said, and picked up the violet robe that was draped over the chair at the head of the table, and put it on as quickly as she could over her dress, pulling the hood up and tying the gold braid belt at her middle. “Now, open your eyes.”

Pippa’s eyelashes parted, and Hecate watched her take everything in. The walls had been draped in cloth enchanted to look like the walls of a tavern. Orbs of light floated in the air about the room, casting a soft yellow light over everything. The table, laden with all Hecate’s crafted fantasy objects—and then finally Pippa turned her eyes upon Hecate herself.

“I can’t _believe_ you dressed up,” she laughed, but it was not intended or received as mocking. “I can’t _believe_ all this effort you’ve gone to! When I suggested D&D club in that workshop I thought there was a remote _possibility_ that you _might_ take a mild interest in the game, but clearly I was wrong. You’ve fallen head over heels for it!”

Hecate could only blush. “Guilty as charged.” It certainly wasn’t the only thing for which she had fallen head over heels.

“Oh, Hecate, the girls are going to _love_ this,” Pippa said, closing the distance between them and grabbing one of Hecate’s hands—extricating it from the voluminous sleeve first—and giving it a tender squeeze.

“They’ll be arriving soon,” Hecate said, colouring slightly at Pippa’s touch. She fished inside her robe and pulled her pocket watch free. “It’s two minutes to.”

“Well then, that’s plenty of time,” Pippa said with a cheeky smirk.

“F-for what?” Hecate mumbled, heart leaping into her throat.

“To wish you good luck, of course,” Pippa replied, and, standing on her tiptoes, pressed a kiss to Hecate’s cheek.

* * *

“Welcome, girls, to the inaugural meeting of D&D club,” Hecate said, hovering somewhat uncertainly at the door, beckoning the girls to enter, hoping that her cheek wasn’t literally on fire, as it felt like it was.

“Miss Hardbroom, what are you _wearing_?” asked Ethel bluntly.

“It’s a robe,” Hecate said quietly, suddenly feeling quite silly. “Because I’m the dungeon master.”

“It’s nice,” said Maud pointedly, shooting a glare at Ethel.

“Wow,” Mildred said as she took in all the decor. “This is really cool! Can I put on the helmet?”

“Not if you want to explain to Miss Cackle why one of the ancient relics of the school is damaged should you perchance drop it,” Hecate warned her.

“Oh look! Minis!” Enid said, taking a seat at the table and picking up one of the miniatures who were standing on the pile of character sheets. “Can I be this one?”

“I have prepared some quick-build characters for you, and you may choose from them which you would like to be. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.”

Hecate went into a quick summary of the classes she had chosen in the eight available characters—only eight because she did not want to overwhelm them with choice—barbarian, bard, cleric, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard. Pippa had already chosen a druid, so she had removed that from the possibilities. The list was primarily spellcasting classes, because she had suspected that the girls would gravitate towards being able to use magic to solve their problems, as they did in school.

“I want to be a witch,” said Ethel, after looking at each sheet while Hecate was talking and tossing them aside onto the table.

“I am afraid there is no witch class,” Hecate said. “The closest thing to a witch would be a wizard, sorcerer, or warlock.”

“But I don’t _want_—”

“Ethel, just pick wizard. That’s the closest thing to a witch. In the game it doesn’t mean you’re a boy like in real life, just that you study magic like a proper witch. But with less potions,” said Enid, who, it seemed, knew quite a bit about Dungeons and Dragons already. 

“There are ways to craft potions in the game, though,” Hecate added eagerly.

Pippa bit her lower lip and scribbled something on her maglet. A message came through on Hecate’s maglet at that very moment. _You’re such a nerd!!!_ Hecate glowered at her, but secretly felt a twist of something inside her and had to keep herself from letting it show on her face.

Ethel sighed and said, “I _suppose_ I’ll be a wizard, then, if there’s no other choice.”

Mildred and Maud looked at the character sheets and pointed out all the interesting features of each. Enid picked up the bard sheet immediately and nodded to herself, grinning. Mildred hummed and hahed between rogue and ranger, but then considered sorcerer as well because she really wanted to cast magic spells. Hecate reminded her that she could choose a different class next week if she did not enjoy the one she had originally chosen, and this made settling with sorcerer much simpler.

“The character sheet’s already filled out,” said Mildred, frowning. “But Miss Hardbroom, I _really_ want to roll the dice to see what my abilities are.”

“Very well,” said Hecate, “but quickly. I am eager to make the most of our time.”

Pippa gave a glowing smile at Hecate, who was too anxious to return it. When all the girls had written their classes, races, and character names on the sheets, Hecate lowered the diffuse light from the magic orbs until all that was lit was the triple-wicked candle in front of her dungeon master’s screen—

“Not that dark, Hecate. I need to be able to read,” interrupted Pippa, pushing her reading glasses up her nose.

—Hecate raised the diffuse light a smidgeon, and began to set the scene.

“It is a dark night, turbulent with stormclouds. You are in the village of Crossfall. Fleeing from the oncoming inclement weather, you have taken refuge in a tavern—” Hecate shot a glance at Pippa, who suppressed a giggle “—but one that does not serve alcoholic beverages to children. The Crossfall Arms.

“You each look around yourselves at the other patrons at your table, and this is who you see.” At this, Hecate invited Mildred to introduce her character.

In what could only be described as the single worst fake received pronunciation accent Hecate had ever had the displeasure of hearing, Mildred said, “Greetings upon you all, weary travellers. I formally introduce myself, an elven sorcerer, as Elethora Ravenhair.” Mildred even did a little flourish with her hand as she bowed to the rest of the room.

“Well met, Elethora—I mean, hello,” Maud said, suddenly going red in the face. “I’m Bree Grumblefoot. I’m a halfling barbarian. I’ve— got a big axe.”

“Hi, I’m Ethel Hallow,” said Ethel, smiling and holding out her hand to Maud.

“—Ethel, don’t you want to make a character who has a different name from you? So we can all get into character. It’ll be much more fun that way,” Pippa suggested in a half-whisper.

Ethel looked haughtily at Miss Pentangle. “The character I’ve chosen is called _Ethel Hallow_. That’s her name.”

“Very well, _Ethel_,” said Hecate dryly, scanning her notes for the upcoming entrance of Pippa’s character and wondering when she could save her from this catastrophe. “Continue with your introductions.”

Enid jumped up from her seat and began to sing with emphatic candour that made Hecate blink in surprise, “Hello… is it me you’re looking for?”

Pippa applauded, and Enid bowed as Mildred and Maud joined in the applause, Mildred adopting what she thought was an intellectual expression that she felt Elethora Ravenhair would wear at all times.

“Thank you, thank you. I’m Braxton Anathema y’all,” Enid said, exuding charm with a southern drawl, “and I’m a tiefling bard. I’m blue and I’ve got horns and a tail, and I’m wearing black robes covered in shimmering sequins.”

“Wow, that’s really cool,” said Maud, clearly impressed, and perhaps a little disappointed in her own character who wasn’t as fully fleshed out yet.

Hecate looked down at her notes, and tried not to read from them too much as she began a speech in the withered voice of an elderly gentleman, “Ahem—ahem— excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear— but I’ve been looking for a group of adventurers to help me with my— delivery. I’m a wizard with the mage college of Pearlmoon. I have some important _cargo_ I need guarded.”

“Hi, I’m Ethel Hallow. I’m a wizard too,” Ethel said in the sycophantic voice she reserved for speaking to teachers.

“Well met, Miss Hallow,” Hecate croaked. “I am Magister Ranulph. Do you think you can help me?”

At an eyebrow raise from Hecate, Pippa interrupted the conversation. “We’ll think about it, now why don’t you get a drink at the bar on me? And then I press a gold coin into his hand.”

“And Ranulph totters over to the bar and orders a flagon of elderberry wine,” Hecate said. Mildred, Maud, and Enid looked thrilled at one another at this smooth introduction of Miss Pentangle’s character.

Pippa made a show of looking conspiratorially around at the girls, and beckoned them into a huddle. “Look, I know you’re new around here so I’ve come to warn you— Ranulph is _bad news_. Every night he comes in here asking for adventurers to help him with this mysterious _cargo_ but we really know he’s a slave trader. He steals tabaxi from their homes and sells them as gifts to wealthy nobles in the Empire.”

“What’s a tabaxi?” asked Maud.

“Tabaxi are cat people. Like me,” said Pippa in an urgent low voice. “But shhh— I’m using a potion to disguise my true form.”

“But he could be just a normal wizard transporting books or something,” Ethel said. “I think we should help him. Who’s to say we can trust _you_? You haven’t even told us your name yet.”

“I’m Gale of Winter. But you can just call me Gale.”

“Maybe we do need some proof she says who she really is,” Mildred said. Hecate was impressed. While Ethel seemed to be deliberately countering what the group wanted, she had made a good point that she hoped at least one of the girls would pick up on. Mildred bridging that gap between the two sides also helped to diffuse Ethel’s sense of moral superiority.

“Mildred, roll an insight check to see if you believe Gale is telling the truth,” said Hecate. “The largest die, the d20, plus the number by your insight skill.”

Mildred picked up a d20 from the bowl of dice sparkling in the dim lighting and shook it in her cupped hands, before letting it go. “Sixteen… plus… four. That’s twenty!”

“Well done, Mildred! That’s amazing for your first roll,” said Enid.

“A modified twenty is a success. Well, Pippa, is Gale telling the truth?” Hecate looked down at Pippa wryly.

“She is definitely a tabaxi, and she believes fully that Ranulph is a slaver. You get the sense that someone close to her may have been taken as a slave,” Pippa revealed, unable to keep the excitement from her face while she tried to convey the serious information.

After a brief argument back and forth between Ethel and the other girls as to whether they would help the wizard or Gale, even though Gale had proven herself, eventually majority ruled. Ethel looked sulky, but went along with the others.

“So, the plan is that we pretend to help Ranulph, but we’re actually going to double-cross him?” Mildred asked Pippa.

“That’s right. Wait for my signal once we’re on the way, and then we’ll attack.”

Everyone seemed in accord, so Ethel volunteered to go back to the wizard to accept his deal, as she had spoken to him before, and clearly as a fellow wizard, he would trust her more. Hecate was not entirely sure it worked that way, but she let it go.

“Right then,” Hecate said in her croaky Ranulph voice. “Meet me outside the stables of The Crossfall Arms. I will gather my friends and we can be on our way.”

Resuming her normal narrator voice, Hecate said, “You leave the bustling tavern and exit into the night, where the rain still drives on. You see the glimmer of a lantern by the stables, and approach, where Ranulph is instructing a half-orc and a stout human, to prepare the horses for the caravan.

“The caravan pulls out of Crossfall, making its way slowly west. You travel alongside it, weapons drawn, ready to fight off any invaders—or that is what Ranulph appears to believe your intentions are.”

“Why are we travelling at night? In the rain? This doesn’t seem sensible at all,” said Ethel, looking askance at her teacher.

In Ranulph’s voice, Hecate responded, “On the contrary, Miss Hallow. The night and the storm offer us more protection from those who might wish to attack us.”

“Keep quiet, Ethel— I mean— no, that’s your name in the game as well,” Maud said, shaking her head at her own confusion.

Hecate suddenly threw up her arms, and as Ranulph again, called, “Halt!” She turned to Pippa. “Now that I have you where I want you, _tabaxi scum_, I can capture you just like I did your sister!”

“HE KNEW ALL ALONG!” yelled Mildred, forgetting her posh received pronunciation accent in her outrage.

In the flickering light of the triple-wicked candle, Hecate steepled her fingers together next to her mouth, and gave a savage smirk.

“Roll initiative.”

As everyone scrambled for d20s, the props on the table magically shifted aside, and Hecate transferred a battle map onto the table, complete with a caravan of three covered wagons, and the three miniatures representing Ranulph and his cronies.

Maud was up first, and was utterly thrilled beyond measure when she got to say, “Bree goes into a RAGE!” and moved her tiny gnome barbarian figure up to the half-orc to cleave her axe into him.

Next, Ranulph shot a magic missile, striking Braxton, Ethel, and Bree for 3, 5, and 2 hitpoints respectively. Hecate sent sparks flying out of the miniature Ranulph for effect, and everyone, including Pippa, gasped in the most satisfactory manner. Hecate had _definitely_ not chosen the highest damage to go to Ethel’s character.

Braxton and Gale managed to finish off the half-orc with a combination of Tasha’s Hideous Laughter and Poison Spray, while Ethel, following Ranulph’s example, cast a magic missile on the human, defeating him easily with all three bolts somehow doing maximum damage. Hecate made a mental note to check next time whether Ethel was cheating her rolls, as she had not been paying close attention while she had been animating the spells that were being cast on the battle map.

Hecate checked her pocket watch while Mildred was deciding what to do and with a frantic realisation, saw that their time was nearly over and afternoon registration was only ten minutes away.

“Ranulph suddenly cries out into the howling wind: ‘You may have defeated my bodyguard this time, but next time, you will not be so lucky!’ He casts Expeditious Retreat. In the blink of an eye— in a flash of lightning that tears across the turbulent sky—he bolts off at an incredible pace and vanishes from sight!

“You turn to the caravan, and within you find huddles of chained tabaxi. Gale, on the body of the half-orc, you find a set of heavy keys. You scrabble back to the wagons to unlock their manacles, and they thank you gratefully.”

“We can take them back to Crossfall in the caravan if the horses are still okay,” said Mildred.

“Good idea,” Pippa said. “As the caravan is pulling back into the Crossfall, Gale says, ‘Thank you for helping me. Thank you so much for believing me. My people owe you a great debt.”

“Was your sister among those we found?” asked Enid.

“No,” said Pippa, checking back with Hecate, who looked surprised but indicated for her to go on. “But now we have more of an idea where Ranulph was taking the tabaxi—we have a lead. Then we can find my sister and bring Ranulph to justice once and for all.”

“—And there we will end this week’s session,” Hecate said after a dramatic pause. The girls all audibly expressed their delight and disappointment that the game was over.

* * *

“Shall I come back next week, then?” Pippa said to the girls.

“Yes!” said Mildred, Maud, and Enid. Ethel refrained from joining in but also did not seem as though she was opposed to the idea.

“Off you all go,” said Hecate archly, her teacher voice returning as she magically collected all the character sheets together and they sailed over the table to her bony, outstretched hand. “You don’t want to be late for afternoon registration.”

“I told you lunchtime clubs were a good idea,” said Pippa, once the pupils had left, practically bouncing off the walls in their excitement, with Ethel the only one reserving judgment. “I think they really enjoyed it. That was a genius move, having Ranulph run off like that. That means they’ve got unfinished business and will want to come back next week to finish him off.”

“Entirely unintentional, I assure you,” Hecate said, her eyes wide at her own impulsiveness as she removed her dungeon master’s robe. “I was running out of time. I suppose it worked out for the best. You were brilliant, too. The way you handled that ending, providing a lead for next time.”

“I was just riffing off you. You were spectacular, Hecate. Quite the flair for the dramatic,” Pippa smiled, laying a warm hand on Hecate’s forearm.

“Thank you, Pippa,” Hecate responded, feeling herself melt inside as she met Pippa’s golden brown eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two, iN WHICH HECATE HARDBROOM IS A NERD!!!
> 
> I had an absolute blast thinking about the character types the girls would gravitate towards, as well as what their player styles would be on first starting to play. As a dungeon master, these things are really fascinating to me. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!! If you liked this, let me know. This was only a sort of experiment and I'm not sure how interesting reading about the D&D adventures of Mildred & co is to anyone else, so it could end here or carry on really.
> 
> Heathcliff  
@heathtrash on tumblr


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